


Tears of Namiko

by sepia_cigarettes



Series: Harmonies [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, band au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 18:27:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12636693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sepia_cigarettes/pseuds/sepia_cigarettes
Summary: Tears of Namiko was Naruto's favorite ninja film. It told the story of the ninja warrior Takashi saving the Princess Namiko from a rebel clan, and her falling in love with him despite their differences. To Naruto, it described his idea of love perfectly, so he was more than happy to wait out the highs and lows of love.He just didn't realise that love was nothing like in the movies.Band AU





	Tears of Namiko

**Pride**

**(2007)**

_Tears of Namiko_  was Naruto's favorite ninja film. It told the story of the ninja warrior Takashi saving the Princess Namiko from a rebel clan, and her falling in love with him despite their differences. To Naruto, it described his idea of love perfectly, so he was more than happy to wait out the highs and lows of love.

Naruto was twelve, but he still wore orange clothing because it was hip and cool and he liked the color. Some people thought it immature of him whenever he rocked up to school wearing an orange tracksuit over his uniform, and maybe he was, but he preferred the words ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘exuberant’. Just because he didn’t wear the latest fashion trends didn’t mean that he wasn’t on par with the rest of his grade.

His mother and father were curled together like cats on the couch, and Kurama—the family pet fox—was slumbering on Naruto’s lap where he resided on the floor. It was Friday, movie night in the Uzumaki household, and the screen was playing _Tears of Namiko_.

"One day," he vowed, pushing his thumb out and doing the ‘nice guy’ pose that Uncle Gai had taught him, difficult to execute whilst sitting down. "I’m gonna do that.”

His father settled a hand on his head, “Do what, son?”

“Be Takashi and rescue the princess that hated me,” Naruto said firmly, grinning cheekily.

He was thinking about Haruno Sakura, the prettiest girl in their class last year apart from Yamanaka Ino. She was smart and smelt like her namesake, but she was scary. It was the only reason Naruto hadn’t asked her out yet. He had to bide his time. The ninja waited three years to have his princess, and though patience was never one of Naruto’s strongpoints, he would survive.

His mother beamed down at him, “Maybe you will.”

 

**(2008)**

Naruto was halfway through his thirteenth year and licking his wounds. Haruno Sakura appeared to hate him, regardless of his valiant efforts to woo her over the past few months, and Yamanaka Ino made sure to remind him of how futile it was.

“Why’d you even like her?” she told him in the middle of science class. “She’s so lame.”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “She’s pretty and smart. What else is she meant to have?”

“Probably a smaller forehead?” Ino suggested. She flicked his temple. “I’m joining Shika. You’re boring.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled as the bell rang.

That was okay. He was used to being on his own. His first few days of school had been him sitting in the corner by himself, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t do it again. The swing set that he frequented had been deserted since probably forever, but it was under the shade of a giant tree on the outskirts of the playground. Whenever he could, Naruto would climb up and sit on the tallest branch, and today was no exception.

He scampered to the top, peeked out from the leaves and observed his classmates as they played below. Well. ‘Play’ was a rather broad term. Now, since they were all thirteen and apparently grown up, the girls opted to sit in circles and braid each other’s hair and try new brands of makeup, whilst the boys stood around in groups and talked about how late their mothers let them play their video games.

Naruto closed his eyes. Times like this were times to pretend. Sometimes he would be riding on a dragon in the sunset; other times he would be a spy, scouting for new lands. His adventures as a ninja saving the princess were always frequent, and he opened his eyes to find where Sakura was. She sat alone, reading a book.

Ino didn’t know anything. Sakura was pretty and smart, and Naruto didn’t have any idea what else a girl was meant to have.

 “Uzumaki Naruto!” came a fierce shout from below. “Get down from there this instant!”

Naruto rolled his eyes and pouted. Of course today would be the day when the teacher caught him _again_. He slipped down, grumbling.

Ino was tittering into her hand, and a couple of the other kids were snickering as well. Naruto hated life at that moment, especially when Sakura saw him and made an annoyed expression.

Looked like catching the princess was so much harder than he had imagined.

 

**Envy**

**(2009)**

Naruto was fourteen and still at odds with his opinion on young love. Sakura continued to be pretty and smart and the object of Naruto’s affections, and Ino remained the snobbish and blunt blonde. Naruto had to admit that she had gotten pretty as well over the last year though. Too bad she was still mean, especially whenever Sakura was concerned. Then again, the two of them were locked in a bitter war over the new boy, so that was probably to be expected.

The new boy was Uchiha Sasuke, and he was _hot_.

In a completely platonic way, of course. Naruto could observe someone and tell if they were attractive or not, and Uchiha was no exception. He was tall enough, brilliant at math, and fairly good at sport. The only thing that did grate on Naruto’s nerves (apart from having Sakura fall over herself in trying to please the Uchiha) was that the newcomer was arrogant, short-sighted, and sulky. Naruto hated people like that. Why couldn’t everyone just be friends?

He went home that night and complained to his parents in-between lamenting over the amount of broccoli his mother had heaped upon his soba.

“Eat your dinner,” she scolded, swatting his hand when he went for the meat. “The _vegetables_ , Naruto. Or no dessert.”

“I’m not five,” Naruto pouted.

“You’re acting like it,” she said, kissing his hair.

“It’s just so _unfair_ ,” he whined. “He’s so tall and pale with luscious black hair and blacker eyes and flawless marble skin and all the girls fawn over him.”

His father chuckled, “Sounds to me like you’re doing a bit of fawning yourself, Naruto.”

Naruto turned red and choked on his mouthful of beans. “I am _not!_ I’m _complaining_.”

“And I’m going to join you if you don’t eat your vegetables,” his mother warned.

“But I am,” he protested. “Besides, it’s not like Uchiha Sasuke and I have anything in common.”

“ _Eat,_ Naruto.”

 

**(2010)**

Naruto was fifteen with a dilemma, and it wasn’t about Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke and the possibility that they were dating. Well, actually, it was, kind of. He knew he could play the drums fairly well, and guitar really well, but to be approached by Uchiha Sasuke and get asked if he wanted to start up a band was not what he had been expecting to encounter on his first day back from summer break.

“Think about it,” Sasuke said, black eyes boring into his.

Then he left, books in hand, uniform immaculate. That reminded Naruto to sprint into the nearest bathroom and check his own appearance, because Sakura was Class President this year, and he really didn’t want to be landed with cleanup duty on the first day.

As he scrubbed viciously at a mark on his new orange and black jacket (from his breakfast of buttered toast, apparently), he thought about Sasuke’s offer. He hadn’t known that the raven played bass, nor did he know that he played the drums as well. They were more similar than Naruto first thought. He wasn’t half-bad either. It didn’t stop him from thinking vicious thoughts about the raven for stealing Sakura away from him though. If the rumor he had heard during summer break was true, then Sakura was dating Sasuke in secret and had been for almost a month.

He really hoped it wasn’t true.

“You’re late, Naruto,” Sakura said when he entered the class.

Naruto waggled his finger at the clock, “We haven’t even started yet!”

“Teaching hasn’t started yet,” she corrected. “You’re still late.”

“Oh, come on, Sakura,” he said. “I promise I won’t be late again!”

“Cleanup duty after school,” she said anyway, green eyes narrowed.

Gods, she was gorgeous. Naruto wanted to bury his face in her pink hair and see if he could embed the scent into his skin.

“Fine. Anything for you,” he leered.

She looked like she wanted to slap him. Naruto was reminded of how long Takashi had to wait to get Namiko. He could wait until Sakura wasn’t taken if he needed to. Sasuke walked into class then, cradling more books than when Naruto had seen him earlier.

“Hi, Sasuke,” Sakura positively swooned.

Sasuke nodded at her once.

“What the hell?” Naruto said, forgetting all his semi-nice thoughts from this morning and seeing red. “Aren’t you going to give him cleanup duty as well?”

“Shut up, Naruto.”

“Unfair!” Naruto retorted. “You call yourself Class President? Whatever happened to equality here?”

“I said shut up!”

“No!”

The teacher swooped in then. It was Umino Iruka. The man was renowned for his iron-fisted ways in the classroom, including detention for anyone who disturbed the peace, and Naruto and Sakura were certainly doing that. Naruto winced as the teacher turned on him.

“You three,” he ordered. “Haruno, Uchiha and Uzumaki. Detention for disturbing the peace. Cleanup duty for all of you after school.”

Which is how they all ended up in the classroom after school, cleaning it from top to bottom. Iruka-sensei was extra strict, though, making them sit down afterwards and write the line, ‘ _I will not disturb the peace of the class_ ,’ two hundred times. Naruto wanted to die from how bored he was. Sakura remained red-faced the entire afternoon and made no secret of how much she wanted to kill him with her eyes. Sasuke was impassive, but also sulky as always. Naruto was irritated at Sakura for getting them into this mess in the first place. If she had only given Sasuke detention as well…but no, she didn’t, because she was probably in love with him. Naruto hated Sasuke in that instant.

It was late when Iruka-sensei finally let them go with clipped instructions to be on time to school tomorrow morning. The three of them walked to the train station in a moody silence.

“Say,” Naruto said, his stomach growling at him.

He still kind of hated Sasuke, and disliked Sakura for being so biased, but he was hungry, and he couldn’t stay angry when his body was calling out for food. He could be mature when food was involved. Food brought people together.

“I could eat. You guys want to get dinner?”

There was all the chance that the two would walk off by themselves, but they didn’t, mainly because it was late and they were all starving. So five minutes later they all squeezed into Ichiraku’s ramen shop and ordered. There was a tense silence.

And then: “Sakura, you sing, don’t you?”

Sakura blinked back at Sasuke, before her attention returned to her ramen. “Yeah. A little. Why?”

“Naruto and I are starting up a band.”

Naruto didn’t choke, no matter how much he wanted to. Sasuke remained cool and impassive. His marble skin was still flawless. Naruto was a little jealous.

“You should join us.”

“Really?”

All the hope in that voice. She definitely loved Sasuke.

Naruto finally got through the food in his mouth. “Yeah, Sakura!”

She gazed at him, before smiling a little.

They ended up jamming together on the weekend at Sasuke’s house. He had an actual recording studio, with the music boards and drum kit and sound system and there was even a grand piano in the corner. Naruto tried not to gape, pulling out his guitar and sitting down on the bench. Sakura sat with him and Sasuke opposite, bass cradled in his hands.

And they played.

When it was over, they all agreed that it was better than they had anticipated. The music was still thrumming underneath Naruto’s skin. He felt like playing again.

“Well?”

“Let’s do it,” Sakura said, deciding for all of them. “Let’s make a band.”

 

 

**Sloth**

**(2011)**

It had been fourteen months since that first jam session at Sasuke's, and in that time, Naruto's love for his princess had only grown bigger. Now sixteen, the three of them—dubbed Seven Sins after their class group number and a weird interest in the idea of not being virtuous—had scored a few local gigs, recorded a couple of songs in the Uchiha recording studio, and even opened once for the visual kei band Akatsuki, thanks to Sasuke’s older brother being their bassist and his uncle Madara being their manager.

They weren't signed to a label yet, but Naruto knew it wouldn't be for long.

“Heads up, _dobe_ ,” Sasuke said as he threw a water bottle at him.

“ _Teme_ ,” Naruto rejoined, catching the bottle and gulping loudly.

Sakura stared at him in annoyance and Naruto chugged the water even more noisily. She had chopped off her pink hair and it came to her shoulders rather than her waist, but it was practical with the amount of jumping around that they did on stage.

“How do you reckon that went?” Sakura asked.

She seemed shy, for some reason. They were practicing in Sasuke’s studio for the upcoming band competition where they hoped to sign with Hatake & Yamato Music. Hatake Kakashi was apparently an old friend of Naruto’s father, but he wasn’t about to capitalise on connections just because he wanted the band to go well, regardless of how much pestering the other two gave him. He wanted to get there with as little help as possible, and if that meant taking a little longer to get the band to the top, then Naruto would do that.

“It went good,” Sasuke nodded.

The song was new, written over the past couple of weeks. Sakura sighed and ate her ice cream whilst Naruto challenged Sasuke to a bass war. The raven smirked at him and answered, pale fingers moving deftly over the fret bar. Naruto wondered what the raven did to keep his hair so luscious.

“Don’t get lost, _dobe,_ ” Sasuke said.

“Never, _teme_ ,” Naruto replied, fingers cramping.

Their names for each other had been born out of frustration in the first couple of months, but then somehow, they had turned into nicknames instead. Sakura was on her laptop, probably on the new social networking site Facebook. Naruto hadn’t taken to it, and neither had Sasuke, but it was much more efficient than MySpace to promote their band.

Naruto’s fingers slipped once, then twice, and on the third time Sasuke smirked with marble lips. “I win.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Naruto grumbled, yawning to avoid meeting the raven’s black eyes. “Think I’m gonna call it a night.”

Sakura blinked, “Me too. Can’t be bothered to do anything else.”

She shut her laptop and stood with him, stretching. Sasuke went to stand as well, presumably to walk them out, but Naruto and Sakura had been here often enough to know their way and it seemed unnecessary anyway.

“S’all good,” Naruto said. “Stay down. Sakura and I’ll survive.”

Sasuke frowned. “I’ll see you at school, then.”

“Tomorrow,” Sakura smiled, donning her pink coat.

Naruto’s car was something that he was proud of, even if it wasn’t orange (yet), because he had managed to buy it all by himself. As you can see, Naruto was a person who liked to make his own way in life regardless of how much longer it took. However, it would still be another couple of years until he was actually able to drive the damned thing, so instead of a comfortable cruise home the two of them took the train.

At least they missed rush hour.

Sakura slipped into a seat and pulled her coat closer around her. “It’s cold.”

“Not too bad,” Naruto shrugged, standing in front of her and trying not to think of any inappropriate implications.

The ride was silent, but it was comfortable too, unlike the previous years where they had avoided each other like the plague. Naruto drummed his fingers on the railing, almost missed their stop, and vowed to keep a better eye on the time.

He was thinking about _Tears of Namiko_. In some other time, Naruto might have thrown plenty of leers at Sakura, but being in a band together had made him mature a bit. He knew Sakura much better now, and he could see that there was a difference between liking a good friend and liking the person you saw in class every day. You knew so much more about them.

It made sense then, why it took Takashi three years to get Namiko to marry him. Not only had she been a fierce warrior princess capable of protecting herself when he’d found her, but he had based his love for her on who he thought she was.

They came to Sakura’s block, and she said, “Well, tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah,” Naruto said. “Tomorrow.”

She smiled and jogged up the steps before turning to wave. Naruto sent her a wave in return, and then walked off once she had disappeared inside.

His parents were still awake when he arrived home, watching—ironically— _Tears of Namiko_ again.

“Hi,” he greeted, kicking his shoes off at the door.

His mother paused the film, “Hey, Naruto. How was practice?”

“Good,” he responded, eyes flitting to the television screen.

“Want to watch?” his father asked this time. “It’s your favorite.”

Disinterested, he shook his head. “Nah.”

His father smirked. “Girlfriend troubles?”

“You know she’s not my girlfriend,” he whined softly. “I don’t know. Nah. I’m tired.”

“Well,” his mother said. “Off to bed then. You’ve got school in the morning.”

“Yeah, I know. Love you, guys,” he said, kissing his mother on the head.

Kurama was sitting in a ball on his bed, blending in with the orange sheets. Naruto sent him a moody greeting and crawled under the blankets, forgoing changing into his pajamas. Having a crush sucked, and it was nothing like his childish pursuits of Sakura in the past.

 

He dreamt of orange cars and ramen, and then awoke to the sensation of Kurama licking his face.

“Gross, man,” he mumbled, ducking under his sheets and hoping that his mother wouldn’t enter to tell him that he was late for school.

It was hard to be bothered when you were a teenager. Motivation wasn’t one of Naruto’s strongest qualities at the moment. He wanted to slip back into Dreamland and sleep the day away.

“Get up,” a voice commanded.

That made him poke his head out, “ _Sasuke_?”

“Up,” the raven said pointedly. “We need to go.”

“What for?” Naruto said sleepily. “What are you even doing in my room?”

Sasuke hissed and ripped the sheets off him, sending Kurama sprawling to the floor. “Get _up_ , _dobe_. Hatake Kakashi wants us to give him a demo.”

“What? _Now_?”

“Yes, _now_. Get the hell up.”

“But we have school.” Naruto stumbled out of bed, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. “I don’t understand.”

Sasuke was rifling through his wardrobe for clothes. “Do you own _anything_ that isn’t orange?”

Naruto watched him, took in the steady lines of his form where it was clad in black denim and a light button-down. He was still attractive. How didn’t he have a girlfriend? Why hadn’t he asked out Sakura yet? Then again, Naruto wasn’t sure that he would forgive the raven if he ever did.

“Useless,” Sasuke said at Naruto’s wardrobe. “Come.” He snagged a hand in Naruto’s shirt and pulled. “You can borrow some of mine.”

Naruto was still waking up when he was in the passenger seat of Sasuke’s brother’s car. Itachi—who was driving like a pianist would play a gentle piece—had a beautiful car, with its black body, leather upholstery, and awesome speaker system that was playing a song Naruto had heard before but couldn’t be bothered to remember what its name was.

“You going to tell me what’s happening?” Naruto said when Itachi had deposited them in Sasuke’s room.

The raven threw a pair of jeans at him. “Sakura got a call this morning. Apparently the video she put up last night—”

Naruto paused in unbuttoning his trousers. “She put up a video?”

“Yes. Keep up, _dobe_.” Sasuke selected a long-sleeved shirt. “Your arms are longer than mine but this’ll do.”

“So,” Naruto said, hopping out of his trousers and pulling up the jeans Sasuke had given him, self-conscious and wishing he’d brushed his teeth. At least he went to the gym regularly. “Sakura put up a video and Hatake Kakashi saw it and now he wants us to play for him?”

Sasuke’s marble cheeks were dusted with pink. “Yes.”

“When?”

“In ten minutes.”

Naruto swore loudly and fluently, pulling on the shirt and wincing when the sleeves didn’t stretch past his forearms. His mother had always said his arms were too long.

“How do I look?”

Sasuke coughed, “Good.”

They sped to Sakura’s and picked her up before hightailing it downtown to Hatake & Yamato Music headquarters. Sakura kept swearing as she dabbed at her face with a sponge. Naruto thought she looked fine, but he didn’t think his opinion would be appreciated, so he stayed silent and tried to keep his breathing even.

Itachi smirked at them in the rearview mirror. Their instruments were in the trunk. Sakura was humming notes. Sasuke didn’t do much apart from look out the window, but Naruto could see that he was nervous.

They arrived two minutes before they were meant to be in Hatake’s office and all said a hurried _thank you_ to Itachi, who poked two fingers to Sasuke’s forehead.

“Do well, otouto.”

Naruto had to flirt with the receptionist to coax her into letting them go up, and then it was Sasuke’s turn to smooth-talk the next assistant when she refused to grant them access to Hatake’s office since he wasn’t there.

“There must be a misunderstanding,” Sasuke gritted out, coating honey over his words. “Mr Hatake called us this morning requesting a meeting.”

“I’m very sorry, Mr…”

“Uchiha.”

“—Mr Uchiha. But Mr Hatake hasn’t been in this morning. He’s usually late. What time did you say you were meant to meet him?”

“Now.”

She shook her head. “Mr Hatake will be another hour, at least. In the meantime, you are welcome to sit in the waiting area.”

Sasuke sent her an icy smile. Naruto backed it up with a warmer one, because regardless of how pissed he was as well, his mother had taught him better manners than the cold arrogant ones that Sasuke exercised.

“Thanks, but we’ll return in an hour,” Naruto said, ushering the other two out.

Sakura swore in the lift and complained about how she could have done her makeup better. Sasuke cursed her and told her to do it again if she was so concerned about it. Naruto snarled at the two of them for waking him so early and that sparked an argument that lasted the entire walk out of the building.

They bickered down the street until Naruto pulled them into a café and told them that the reason they were all irritable was because they hadn’t eaten breakfast.

“You always think that, Naruto,” Sakura said, but she stepped up and ordered, regardless.

A few minutes later they were seated in a corner booth, sweets in hand and coffees cooling on the table in front of them with the complimentary salt and pepper. Sasuke looked like he was in a photo shoot, balancing his coffee cup in perfect fingers.

“At least we got out of school,” Naruto mused.

“True.” Sakura said, munching messily on pink sponge.

She was adorable sometimes. Naruto reached out and ruffled her hair, prompting her to squish the cake in his face.

“Damn it, Naruto!”

He laughed, loud and clear, licking the sugar off his face. “Mm. Creamy.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“You love me,” he answered, laughing as she attacked him again, this time with her fists.

He was reminded again of Takashi, and how Namiko had beaten him up once she’d discovered who had rescued her. This wasn’t much different, apart from the fact that it was getting harder and harder to know who was the princess.

In the end, they had to wait two hours for Mr Hatake. The assistant apologized profusely for her boss’ tardiness but advised them not to mention it, so the three of them met him humbly.

“I don’t want a demo,” Hatake Kakashi said. “I don’t even want you to do the competition.”

Naruto tensed in his seat and resisted the urge to jump up and demand who the _hell_ Hatake Kakashi thought he was for having so little faith in them. He didn’t even look like someone who was the head of a successful company. They were usually oldish, suit-and-tie fashion sense, energetic, and revolved around making business. Hatake Kakashi was not. He was a fairly young man with white hair. He wore a mask and one eye was hidden behind what Naruto could only call a headband. He looked like a drug addict.

Kakashi leaned forward. “I want to sign you. I went through your videos and your gigs. You guys seem good. We’re talking a five-year contract with two albums, as many promotional tours, and the usual extra ones if you want to support.” He held out his hands. “What do you say?”

Sasuke looked at Sakura and Naruto. His black eyes were surprised. “I…guys?”

Naruto was speechless as well.

Sakura, who seemed to be the spokesperson whenever decisions were to be made, took up the mantle of responsibility again, albeit hesitantly. “We say yes.”

 

**(2012)**

Naruto was seventeen and wishing he’d had the foresight to know _what the heck being in a band actually entailed_ because he was roughly five minutes from running on stage and kicking off their month-long tour around the country and he felt like vomiting.

He’d practiced so hard for this damned gig and nearly driven his bandmates crazy over his enthusiastic approach to practice, but now his fingers felt frozen and all the chords he’d memorised were not coming to mind.

Sakura was jumping on the spot next to him, hyping herself up. Sasuke stayed on his phone. Naruto had no idea how he was being so calm when there was a screaming crowd less than ten metres away waiting for them.

He went through the set list in his head like a mantra, wishing the roadies Kakashi had given them would forget to set up properly somewhere and make the band come out later. Not that Naruto was lazy or anything. He just hadn’t anticipated being this much of a wreck.

Konohamaru stuck his head around the curtain to give them a thumbs up. “You guys are all good to go!”

“Don’t screw up, _dobe_ ,” Sasuke quipped.

“As if!” Naruto feigned confidence when he really just wanted to leave.

“You two arguing is _not_ helping my nerves!” Sakura hissed.

She drank a few mouthfuls of suspiciously-coloured liquid and then threw the bottle at Naruto. He fumbled in catching it, barely escaped letting it smash on the ground, and took a swig.

The whiskey hit him hard. It tasted absolutely horrifying.

“ _What,_ ” he choked, fumbling around for water.

“Weak,” Sasuke said, drinking from the bottle.

How he managed to do everything gracefully, Naruto had no idea. He did know that Sasuke would probably play perfectly and not cause the band endless humiliation and subsequent financial ruin.

Hell, Sakura wouldn’t. It was probably Naruto’s role.

Panic clawed its way up his throat then, thick and suffocating. “Guys. _Guys,_ I’m going to screw up, I can feel it.”

“Hey, Naruto, no,” Sakura began, before Sasuke strode over and grabbed his collar.

“Pull yourself together, Naruto,” he said.

“I _can’t_ , I don’t remember anything—”

“Yes, you do,” Sasuke slapped his face a little harsher than what Naruto thought was necessary to reorient him. “Listen to me. You’re the best damned guitarist I know and you’ve rehearsed this setlist the most out of us three.”

Naruto held onto Sasuke’s wrists like they were a lifeline and nodded, even though he felt terrible and didn’t believe a word Sasuke was saying.

Sakura put her arms around the two of them. “It’s just a gig, okay? It’s just forty minutes of playing, that’s all. We practice longer than that.”

Sasuke shoved the whiskey against his mouth and made him gulp some down. “It’s just a gig.”

“Just a gig,” Naruto rasped, throat on fire. “Right. Just a gig.” He dragged a hand down his face. “ _Gods_ , what if they hate us?”

A very concerned-looking Konohamaru poked him as the music to their first track began to play. “You guys need to get out there now before they decide for you.”

Sakura left immediately and Naruto didn’t have time to protest because Sasuke was dragging him by the arm and they were in front of the screaming crowd.

 _Breathe, Naruto_ , he told himself, picking his guitar up as Konohamaru slotted in behind the drum kit.

Sakura was a bright beacon in front of him and Sasuke had already begun to play the riffs and there was no way he’d live after this if he didn’t perform as spectacularly as he apparently did in practice, so he sucked in a breath and strummed.

 

**Gluttony**

**(2013)**

Naruto was newly eighteen and he was in a pretty successful band.

Being the birthday boy had involved a nice dinner followed by some time spent in the arcade, before everyone ended back at the H&YM building to collapse in the band lounge. His guest-list was short and sweet, comprised of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio that had started up at the same time as Seven Sins, the Inuzuka siblings, and of course, his band mates.

Naruto had escaped the next round of cards into the kitchen to hunt for something to eat. He’d been plied with birthday beers all night and hadn’t eaten nearly as much as he’d wanted. Everything was going very quickly.

Sasuke joined him a few minutes after, leaning against the bench and crossing his arms.

“You know that ninja movie?” Naruto asked Sasuke, pouring sauce over the packet ramen he had managed to find.

The raven’s eyes flitted over to him, but they weren’t as cold as usual, which meant that Sasuke had been drinking something alcoholic rather than sticking to peach tea.

“Yeah,” he said. “Plenty of them, _dobe_.”

Naruto knocked his forehead against the raven’s shoulder, “ _Teme_. But have you? Watched it. Like, _Tears of Namiko?_ Where he rescues the princess from the rival clan and she ends up being his childhood nemesis.”

Sasuke’s smirk was chiseled. “No idea.”

“Oh come on. She beats him up when she finds out who he is, and then he gets attacked by the enemies on top of that and has to get nursed back to health by her clan?”

“Nope.”

“Oh,” Naruto said, disappointed. He poked at the mess of ramen in front of him, then shrugged, picked up his chopsticks and dug in. “I always wanted to be the ninja.”

“Hm?”

“I wanted to rescue the princess that hated me. Always thought it’d be Sakura.”

Sasuke looked at him, expression undecipherable. “What do you mean?”

Naruto grinned. “I dunno. She’s so pretty, y’know? All that pink hair, and her eyes. So green.”

“Hn.”

“And then you,” Naruto pointed a chopstick at Sasuke. “You came along. I think she’s in love with you. Why haven’t you asked her out yet?”

Sasuke shook his head, a small smile on his lips. “You’re drunk, Naruto.”

“I’m _not_ ,” Naruto protested. “I’m merely eating ramen. Have you tasted this ramen? Here. Taste it.”

“Naruto, I—” Sasuke made a face when Naruto shoved the ramen against his lips, but he ate it anyway. “That tastes awful.”

Naruto hummed, remembering how Sasuke usually refused to eat any type of noodle that came from a packet. Rich spoilt brat. “You really hate packet ramen.”

“I do.”

“Do you hate me?”

Sasuke snorted. “We’re in a band, _dobe_.”

“Oh.” Naruto rubbed his eyes and set the chopsticks down. “I know that.”

Sasuke scowled at him. Naruto leant forward and brushed their noses together, laughing when Sasuke pushed him away.

“What are you doing?”

“Making you smile.” Naruto said. “Or, trying to.”

“You’re not doing a good job.”

“No?”

“No.”

Naruto smiled until it hurt as much as Sasuke’s words. “Y’know. I didn’t even get a birthday kiss from Sakura.”

Sasuke’s black eyes were narrow. “I suppose I’m meant to feel sorry?”

“You should. I’ve never even kissed a girl and I’m eighteen.”

Sasuke looked like he was three minutes away from hitting him. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d hit Naruto, either. He glanced at the floor. “It’s overrated anyway.”

Naruto raised a brow and leant forward. “How do you know?” When Sasuke didn’t answer he poked him, “ _Teme_. How do you know?”

“Stop, Naruto.”

“Why?”

“Because I asked.”

The glare was back. He had never looked so perfect. Naruto made a snap decision, and then abandoned all rationality. He went through the mental checklist in his head: lips slightly parted, tilted head, don’t bump your noses, keep your tongue inside your mouth—

He went for it.

Sasuke shoved him away at once. He looked irritated, and he was faintly pink. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Kissing you?”

“You’re terrible.”

“Well you did just take my first one,” Naruto shrugged.

“ _I_ took _yours?_ I’m fairly sure it’s the other way around, _dobe._ ”

“Well then just—”

“No,” Sasuke planted a hand on Naruto’s chest to keep him from trying again.

Naruto felt like whining. Sasuke glared at him fully, and if looks could kill, Naruto would be well on his way to the afterlife by now.

“Sasuke.” He wasn’t begging.

“You can’t kiss.”

“Teach me then.” He _really_ wasn’t begging.

Sasuke looked incredibly uncomfortable. At least they both were. “I—”

“Sasuke.”

“ _No_.”

“Please?”

The raven’s mouth was set in a thin line. “If you say a word of this to anyone, I will break your neck.”

“Really?”

Sasuke’s glare intensified. “Just…stay still.”

Two hands were placed against the sides of his face and he was drawn closer, a foreign pressure against his mouth.

 _Huh_ , Naruto thought as Sasuke’s lips shifted.

Then he decided that it was really hard trying to move his mouth in time with Sasuke’s. The raven’s hands were still on his face, and his eyes were half-open. Naruto kept his open as well, but it felt awkward and strange, like the entire kiss. A few moments later, Sasuke closed his and let his hands fall from Naruto’s face to grasp his shoulders. Naruto, unsure of where to put his own hands, put them on the bench before him and prayed that his plate of ramen was out of the way.

“Happy birthday,” Sasuke said softly when he ended it, “ _Dobe_.”

Sasuke left to join the others in the lounge again, and Naruto was _not_ hard, damn it. He snuck back into the room with his ramen and sat furthest away from the raven.

“Good birthday, Naruto?” Kiba asked.

Naruto was still thinking of how he kissed Sasuke. “Yeah?”

“When’s the next album? We can celebrate with another party.”

“Dunno. We’re recording soon.”

“What’s that one going to be like?”

Sakura blinked sleepily. “Possibly like the last one, but I’ll do a lot more clean vocals this time.”

“I liked your last album,” Ino said.

Sasuke did well in hiding his surprise. Better than Sakura and much better than Naruto. The two girls’ rivalry had always been a topic of conversation whenever they weren’t around, and Sakura spent around forty percent of her time complaining about the blonde, so this was unexpected.

“Did you really?” Sakura said.

Ino glared at her, “Yeah. But you’re still lame.”

“Ino-pig.”

“Billboard Brow,” the blonde retorted.

 

Being eighteen didn’t result in an overnight change, unfortunately. In spite of Naruto’s wishes, being eighteen and in a band didn’t mean that he got to drop out of school. His parents had been adamant, as had the others’ parents, so he, Sasuke and Sakura were given schoolwork each month that they had to finish by the time the next batch arrived. On top of that, there were the upcoming entrance exams, which Naruto’s bandmates had decided they would take.

Naturally, Sakura had finished her schoolwork within the first week. Naturally, Naruto hadn’t finished his. Unnaturally, neither had Sasuke.

“Shove over, _dobe_ ,” the raven said.

He was holding his math textbook and exercise book in one hand, a packet of pocky in the other. Naruto shoved his books to the side and motioned to Sasuke to sit down.

“You mean you haven’t finished yours?”

Sasuke pouted and sat in the cleared space. “No.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I didn’t,” Sasuke said, opening the packet. “Gods. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not perfect.”

Choosing not to comment, Naruto took three, because he didn’t know if Sasuke would let him have more afterwards. The raven bit into one and started copying equations out of the textbook. Naruto tried to do the same, but the words on the page kept blurring together and he couldn’t stop fidgeting.

“Um. Sasuke?”

“What.”

“About the other night…” He trailed off, because Sasuke had stopped writing and was glaring at him.

“What about it?”

Naruto chewed his lip. “I was just thinking…about it.”

“You do that,” Sasuke said.

He returned to his work, silent. The pocky remained untouched, and Naruto had to stop himself from reaching out and eating more because it was his turn to scowl. Chasing down the princess was never this hard in the ninja movie.

He clenched his fists. “Y’know. I thought it was pretty good.”

Sasuke kept writing. “That’s nice.”

“I mean. It was kind of a big deal for me.”

This time Sasuke paused and looked up. “You were very drunk.”

Naruto frowned, before shutting his book with a snap. It was due tomorrow, but he decided it could wait.

Sasuke’s scowl returned when Naruto crawled over to him, before it quickly became recognition. “No, _no._ Naruto. We are _not—_ ”

For one infinitesimal moment, Naruto was glad he hadn’t listened. Sasuke was warm, and Naruto could taste the remnants of pocky on his mouth.

Then, he was sprawled on his back, blinking up at the ceiling and trying to figure out what had happened. His jaw throbbed.

Sasuke’s eyes were murderous, his words clipped. “I said _no_.”

“If the ninja had listened, he wouldn’t have gotten his princess.”

Sasuke’s face crumpled up in confusion. “What?”

Naruto could pick the moment the raven realized what he was talking about.

“You’re kidding.” Sasuke looked more than slightly insulted. “ _I’m the_ _princess?_ ”

“Yes,” Naruto said stubbornly. “I’m the ninja, so you can only be the princess.”

Sasuke snarled and crawled over to him, muttering, “I’ll show you who’s the princess,” before slapping him. Naruto caught the next blow that came, but Sasuke was nimbler than him and managed to get in another before Naruto could grab both wrists.

“With slaps like that,” he panted, grinning. “You’re _definitely_ the princess.”

This time he was expecting the punch.

“ _Dobe!_ ” Sasuke said, struggling against Naruto’s grip on him.

He may have been more agile, but Naruto ruled the two of them strength-wise, and after a few moments of fighting, it was Naruto pinning Sasuke. The raven kicked out at him, then gave up.

“Bastard,” he spat.

“That’s my word,” Naruto said.

Sasuke glared at him, before he fought against a smile.

“Idiot,” the raven said instead, prompting a laugh out of Naruto.

That made Sasuke laugh as well, quiet but unbridled all the same. Naruto stared at him, at the way his black eyes lost a little of their iciness, and decided that he could wait for a long time if that was what Sasuke looked like when he was happy.

“Hopeless,” the raven grumbled, hands winding around Naruto’s neck as he tucked his face into the hollow of Naruto’s throat. “You better not tell anyone I’m doing this.”

Naruto nosed his dark hair, smelt soap and shampoo and felt like his chest would burst. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

**Wrath**

**(2014)**

Naruto was almost nineteen and experiencing his first heartbreak. He held the contract Sasuke had given him, refusing to believe what he had just read.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Sasuke, to his credit, remained unflinching, instead choosing to cross his arms. “I’m sick of our band. We have no direction and Orochimaru has offered—”

“I don’t care what Orochimaru has offered! What about us?” Naruto said, eyes stinging. Then, quieter, because they clearly hadn’t been on the same page with their many (okay fine, two) secret makeouts over the past few months. “What about _me?_ ”

Sasuke frowned. “What about you? I’m not main vocalist. I’m completely replaceable.”

“No.” Naruto threw the stack of papers onto the coffee table. “No, you’re not. We’ve been together for four years, _four years_ , and now you try to pull this stunt without telling anyone what you were thinking of?”

Sasuke retrieved the contract, wordless, as Naruto paced the room.

“Does Sakura know?”

“No.”

“No, of course she doesn’t,” Naruto muttered. “Why would you incite the wrath of her when you know you can get away with anything with me?”

It wasn’t a question, but Sasuke answered anyway. “Five Senses is an upcoming band and they’re a lot more successful than we’ve ever been. This is a really big opportunity for me. I can’t stay here whilst my brother continues to be best me at every turn.”

“He’s _older_ than you. You not supposed beat him.”

“Maybe I am. It just won’t be with you guys.”

“Sasuke—”

Sasuke’s tone turned impatient. “Naruto, I’ve already made my decision.”

“This isn’t _your_ decision to make!” Naruto exploded, striding forward and shaking Sasuke by the shoulders. “This is a _band_ decision. You can’t just decide to leave us.”

Sasuke batted his hands away, holding the contract in front of him like a shield. “Look! I already have!”

Naruto slapped it out his hand. “The hell you have! What about us?”

“It’s _done_. You’ll just have to find someone else.”

Naruto sputtered in disbelief. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to say about it?”

“Yeah.”

“Sasuke, I…actually, you know what?”

The vitriol Naruto chose to direct at Sasuke in the following moments was loud and furious. The sound of the door slamming was louder.

 

**(2015)**

Adjusting to a new band member was not something Naruto ever envisaged having to do, but the past few months for Seven Sins had involved welcoming Sai as their new keyboardist.

He would bring a new sound, Kakashi had said, so the band had diverged from their previous metalcore sound to something more melodic.

Naruto couldn’t help but think that Sai looked a lot like Sasuke. He was paler, with dark hair, dark eyes, and very limited interpersonal skills.

“Look at the idiot,” Sakura said as she slapped the most recent edition of Shinobi Music onto the coffee table along with a tea for Naruto. “Egotistical as always.”

Naruto paused from tuning his guitar to peer at the cover. A photoshopped Sasuke stared back up at him, wearing too much eyeliner and surrounded by his new band members.

“I thought you liked him,” Naruto mumbled, using the magazine as a coaster for his cup so he didn’t have to look at something— _someone_ —that hurt him so much.

“No, that was _you_ ,” Sakura corrected, slumping onto the couch next to Sai. “He could have run you over with his car and you would have apologised for being in the way.”

“I would not have!”

Sai blinked owlishly at the two of them. “Is everything alright?”

“We hate Sasuke,” Naruto supplied.

“Wrong,” Sakura interjected. “ _I_ hate Sasuke, Naruto is positively in love with him.”

“What, because I refuse to believe he’s going to be with Taka forever?”

“Obviously.” Sakura kicked out at him when he tickled her foot. “Tsunade taught me how to bring a person to their knees, you know. Don’t try me.”

Naruto narrowly avoided getting a foot to the head. “He’ll come back one day. You’ll see.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “When was the last time he talked to you? To any of us? He wouldn’t even look our way at the KMAs last month.”

Ah yes, the awful Konoha Music Awards. It wasn’t a night Naruto remembered fondly, although he’d been able to see Sasuke at certain times. The raven had been surrounded by the members of his latest band Taka: Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin.

Five Senses had crashed not too long after Sasuke joined them, due to their leader Kimimaro leaving the band to focus on chemotherapy and subsequent dissension in the ranks.

Naruto hated that he’d thought Sasuke would come back to them, because it didn’t happen. Instead, Sasuke went along and formed Taka and at the KMAs, he hadn’t even looked at Naruto, no matter how long Naruto stared in his direction, hoping he’d turn his head.

“I wouldn’t waste time on him,” Sakura sniffed, like she hadn’t spent the first two months Sasuke was gone bawling her eyes out.

Naruto knew. He’d done the same.

“Besides,” Sakura added, like she was reassuring herself. “Taka isn’t even doing well. People say Sound Music is on the brink of bankruptcy. Something about Kabuto kicking Orochimaru out of the chair.”

Naruto raised a brow. “Who told you that?”

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Sakura shrugged.

“Bu that if they go bankrupt?”

“Who cares? We’re gearing up for our second tour. Turns out _we’re_ not the ones with no direction!” At Naruto’s glare, she rolled her eyes. “Oh, I know you hate it when I badmouth Sasuke, but he was an ass.”

Sai scratched his head. “I don’t know him, but I watched some of your earlier stuff and you all seemed like you got along.”

“Yeah, branding helps with that,” Naruto snorts. “We used to fight a lot.”

“We all did,” Sakura agreed, rubbing her nose on the sleeve of her jumper. “But he meant a lot to us.”

Naruto looked at her, knowing why he was still blindly defending the raven and partially hating himself because of it. “He still means a lot to me.”

“I was wrong. _You’re_ the idiot,” Sakura sighed and shook her head, and Naruto wished trusting the logic of _Tears of Namiko_ was easier.

 

Gaara told him the exact same thing when they went to dinner the next week.

“What do you see in him?”

Naruto pushed rice around his bowl, then ordered another beer.

“Don’t stall.”

Naruto screwed his nose up. “Oh fine. I’m in love with Sasuke. Now can we drop it?”

Gaara, to his credit, did not take this newfound information and tease him with it. Not that Gaara would. Naruto knew his friend had some things to work out, knew Gaara was still going through the motions that his time at rehab had instilled in him, but he was very loyal. It was part of the reason they had become friends. It was the kind of friendship that felt right despite the newness of it.

So it wasn’t very surprising when Gaara didn’t comment on the confession. It was when he said instead, “You don’t even know him. How can you be in love with him?”

“What?” Naruto groused, not thinking through his next words. “Like you’re capable of showing a thread of human emotion?”

Gaara glared at him, and Naruto swallowed, because that was uncalled for. “Shit, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

They didn’t mention Gaara’s public breakdown earlier in the year, or how Naruto had fished him out of the shower weeks later, soaking wet and vomiting up tablets.

“I didn’t mean it.”

Gaara didn’t look any less angry when he pointed at the red tattoo on his forehead. “This has a story behind it.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I wasn’t saying it was meaningless.”

“Good. Then don’t base your opinions on Sasuke on a frivolous drunken decision.”

“Hey! We kissed a couple of times afterwards.” Naruto’s beer arrived, and he avoided meeting Gaara’s eyes. “We just, never put a label on it.”

“Were you sober?”

“Yeah!”

The black around Gaara’s eyes only made them more piercing. “So you’re saying you’ve got a story.”

Naruto fiddled with his napkin. “I mean, _yeah_.”

“Right, which is why he’s in another band, you two haven’t talked in a year, and you’re drinking that beer to get drunk rather than enjoy it.”

Naruto drained his glass and wiped his hand on his sleeve. “Hey, alcohol makes everything better, right?”

Gaara stared long and hard at him. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

Naruto ignored him and hailed the waiter.

 

**Lust**

**(2016)**

Naruto was twenty years old and he was pretty sure he hadn’t been a blind teenager in love with the idea of Sasuke. He knew the raven. They had lived in each other’s pockets.

Sakura, ever the antagonist, had taunted him with a remake of _Tears of Namiko_ for Christmas. His fault for getting drunk too often and telling Sakura that Sasuke was his Namiko.

The year had served as a reminder of how everyone around him was moving on. Sakura and Ino had decided to lease an apartment together, seemingly putting aside their teenaged differences. Gaara had left him for a month to tour with his siblings in their band, Bloody Sands. Kiba and Hana were taking a break from music to focus on university. Sai was hosting an art exhibition. It was as if the cogs were settling into place for his friends, and yet Naruto felt lost.

It was like he was holding onto the ninja and princess fantasy, with no real reason to anymore. He missed Sasuke; their fights, their jokes, their games. He missed the three of them together as a band, complaining about the intermittent lack of motivation and the acoustics of their latest gig. It all seemed a lifetime ago.

“Remember,” Gaara had said before he’d climbed aboard the tour bus. “Drunken decision versus story.”

“There’s a story,” Naruto had insisted despite his misgivings, before pushing the redhead up the last couple of steps. “Go break some hearts.”

“You know I hate people.”

“Yes, so being a lead singer in a band makes total sense.”

Gaara had flipped him off.

Naruto had given him the peace sign and left to get drunk at his local club.

Halfway through his third beer, Sasuke wandered over. Naruto almost choked. He had frequented this club all year on a weekly basis and yet he’d never seen the raven here before.

“ _Dobe_ ,” Sasuke said, voice low and deep.

Naruto didn’t know whether to be angry or aroused. His dick decided for him. “Sasuke. You’re…here.”

“A good observation, Naruto,” he smirked, lips wrapping around his straw, cheeks hollowing.

Naruto’s mouth went dry. “W-what’s been going on with you?”

Sasuke shrugged. “I don’t like my band anymore. We’re not going anywhere.”

Something triumphant crawled up Naruto’s throat. “Well, Seven Sins are.”

Sasuke’s eyes were dark. “Yes, yes you are.”

Naruto’s brows knitted together, and he finished the rest of his beer before tugging on Sasuke’s sleeve. “Come outside. We need to talk.”

They stumbled outside and the winter cold hit them. Sasuke laughed dryly, pushed him up against the wall and kissed him.

Naruto reared back despite his body screaming _finallyfinallyfinally_ and held his hands up as he said, “Whoa, whoa. We’re supposed to be talking.”

Sasuke’s teeth were sharp where they found skin and his fingers worked on the buttons of Naruto’s shirt. “Fuck talking.”

“Sasuke.”

“Shh.”

“No, how much have you had to drink?”

“A lot.”

“What?” Naruto laughed, breathless and wondering how long Sasuke had been thinking of this. “What are you doing?”

“I’m kissing you, obviously,” Sasuke said, succeeding in pushing Naruto’s shirt up to feel the skin under there whilst he sealed their mouths together.

“Sasuke—” Naruto tried, but he was shut up by another onslaught of kisses.

Sasuke’s hands seared his skin everywhere they touched and the pressure in Naruto’s pants was becoming unbearable, but he couldn’t let it happen like this, they hadn’t even talked about him leaving.

“Sasuke—”

“Look,” Sasuke snapped. “Do you want this or not? What happened to what you told me at your eighteenth?”

“My eighteenth?” Naruto echoed, pushing Sasuke’s hands away. “That was over three years ago! You haven’t looked at me since you left, and now I find you here in a club near my apartment after two years and you want to hook up like nothing has happened.”

“Naruto.”

“No, you’re an asshole. You know that? You left us. You left _me_.”

Sasuke wasn’t looking at him. “I thought it was just a crush.”

“Yeah, and I thought I was in love with you but I clearly didn’t know you as well as I thought because you left without telling us why.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I was with you every single day for four years. We were at the very least friends. It wasn’t just a crush and it wasn’t fair of you to leave like that.”

“I needed to beat Itachi—”

“So you screwed us over to do so? How is that okay?”

“It wasn’t.”

“No, it fucking wasn’t.”

Sasuke winced. “I’m…sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t fix the last two years, Sasuke,” Naruto snapped. “Look, just go, will you?”

Sasuke stayed silent, then played with the hem of Naruto’s shirt. “So maybe I stalked you here.”

Naruto was busy willing away his boner so he could stay angry. “Yeah okay.”

“I fucked up.”

“ _Yeah_.”

“But…I miss you two. Don’t shut the door on me.”

“Oh, like you deserve to be let in so easily?”

“No,” Sasuke agreed, mouthing at Naruto’s cheekbone. “I don’t deserve that. But I want to be here.”

Then, after a pause, “I want you.”

The few times they had kissed in the past, Sasuke had never made any indication that he felt the same way as Naruto. Naruto had been eager and clumsy; Sasuke had been guarded and receiving yet always waiting for Naruto to make the first move.

It was the alcohol talking, Naruto decided, because Sasuke would never say that. Sasuke was too proud, too much of a snob. He would never say anything as generous nor as crude without some liquid courage. Still, Naruto didn’t help the situation by kissing Sasuke back just as fiercely, by pushing the raven’s collar aside and sucking bruises onto his neck.

“This doesn’t mean we’re okay,” Naruto clarified, drunk from both the beer and Sasuke’s touches.

“Sure?” Sasuke panted into his mouth, and they got carried away a bit longer.

“Positive,” Naruto said after longer than he cared to admit, grabbing Sasuke’s hand and pulling him in the direction of his apartment. “Let’s blame this on the crush.”

“You said it wasn’t one.”

“Whatever.”

He had the vague thought that even though he’d had his fair share of hook-ups on tour, he had never taken anyone home before, nor had he ever done anything beyond make out, but it was a three-minute walk and he was too hard to think properly, and it was _Sasuke_.

“I’m really drunk,” he said, wondering if Sasuke felt as awkward as he did.

The raven was quiet as Naruto fumbled with the lock sequence to his apartment, but he followed when Naruto opened the door and put his shoes on the rack.

“So,” Naruto said as he sat on the bed and shoved his hands in his pockets, already regretting his decision to bring Sasuke home.

The hazy atmosphere of the club had made him confident.

“You’ve never done this before, have you?” Sasuke said, eyes twinkling.

The raven didn’t say anything else, but began to unbutton his shirt. Naruto watched in silence, felt his face go hot as Sasuke let the shirt drop to the floor. His hands went to his belt buckle next, and it was a lot more attractive than Naruto had thought possible.

“Have you?” Naruto asked, trying not to let jealousy overcome him.

“Kind of?” Sasuke said, pulling his belt free.

Naruto stopped Sasuke from undoing his jeans, pulling the raven closer by the belt loops and doing it himself, wondering if they should talk through things properly before doing _these things_.

It seemed counterproductive to be falling into bed with Sasuke and clinging to a fantasy that had failed him for so long, and yet…

They didn’t talk.

Naruto pulled the raven’s boxer briefs down, wrapping a hand around him and stroking before his nerves had a chance to stop him. Sasuke rested his wrists on Naruto’s shoulders and stayed there, comforting, so Naruto leant forward and licked the glans into his mouth.

“Kami,” Sasuke swore, and his head fell back, exposing the long pale line of his throat.

Naruto pressed a hand to his renewed erection and took Sasuke further into his mouth, tongue lapping at the sensitive underside. He had no idea if he had any rhythm, or what felt good, or what you were supposed to do, but Sasuke was groaning softly and his hand had settled in Naruto’s hair, guiding him, so he had to be doing something right.

The world narrowed, to Naruto’s jaw as it began to ache, the wet noises, the change in Sasuke’s breathing, and how keeping teeth out of the equation was more difficult than he’d thought.

And then it expanded again.

Sasuke stopped him, placed his hands either side of Naruto’s head, and kissed him hungrily. “This. Off.”

Naruto helped the prying hands and within minutes his clothes joined Sasuke’s on the floor and it was skin against skin. Sasuke’s mouth was demanding and unrelenting and Naruto laid back and let himself be swept away with the kisses, answering as best as he could. He’d never understood what people said when they felt intoxicated with lust, but he was starting to.

Sasuke’s hand was wrapped around his erection, stroking haphazardly. He seemed to like the space right above Naruto’s collarbone the most. Naruto took the lead with the next kiss, slowing them down so he could savour this as best he could. Who knew if this would happen again? He was trying to remember that just because they were doing this did not mean they were okay, it didn’t mean that Sasuke was in love with him, it didn’t mean they would do this again. It meant nothing, even though at the end of the day, Naruto’s heart was still bursting with affection for this crazy raven who tasted nothing like he thought he would, whose skin was in stark contrast to his tanned self, and who kissed like he couldn’t get enough.

This was absolutely nothing like the ninja and his princess.

“Have you got anything?” Sasuke murmured, sucking lazily on Naruto’s lip as his hand kept moving.

“Drawer,” Naruto managed to get out, and then he was left staring at the ceiling as Sasuke crawled over and rummaged around.

Sasuke returned and held the tube out to Naruto. “You do it.”

“I don’t really know how,” Naruto admitted, shy all over again as he took the proffered tube and squeezed gel onto his fingers.

Sasuke laid back on the bed, said, “I’ll show you,” and together they pressed two fingers inside him.

“Gods,” Naruto swore, and he licked up the side of Sasuke’s erection.

Trusting was the only word Naruto could think of to call the writhing mess that was Sasuke in the moments that followed. He was ridiculously hard, giving a blowjob whilst fingering required a lot of concentration and coordination, and he still didn’t know if he loved the idiot. He curled his fingers and Sasuke clenched around them, back arching, and Naruto’s heart was beating loud in his ears.

“You okay?” he asked, and Sasuke nodded and grabbed the tube.

The raven’s hands were cold with gel as they slicked over Naruto’s erection again, and Naruto was struggling to keep a clear thought process, because Sasuke was _good_.

“Shouldn’t we talk about this?” Naruto said when he no longer felt like he was five seconds away from exploding. “Like, I’m okay just to keep it at this.”

Sasuke licked his way into Naruto’s mouth. “You want more though, right?”

“I guess? I mean, this is amazing, but—” He didn’t finish his sentence because Sasuke had rolled a condom onto him.

“You said this doesn’t fix anything,” the raven said, kissing his neck again. “I get that. It’s just sex.”

But it wasn’t, because Naruto had never taken anyone to his bed and here he was after a five-year chase with Sasuke and it wasn’t supposed to be just sex.

“I thought you hated me,” he said.

Sasuke kissed him in response. “Me too.”

“Huh?” Naruto said, because seriously, what was _that_ supposed to mean?

“Don’t think about it,” the raven answered, and then he was sinking down onto Naruto’s dick and Naruto couldn’t breathe.

“ _Fuck me_.”

He was almost positive his eyes rolled back into another dimension because nothing had ever felt this incredible. Sasuke moved gradually, taking time to sheath himself fully, and Naruto tried really hard not to come.

“I’ve never done this,” Naruto confessed, overwhelmed by the snugness and heat and the violent urge to push up and take.

Sasuke’s eyes were heavily lidded as he said, “It’s okay,” and then he shifted his hips and they both groaned.

“Kami, you feel so good and we didn’t even talk,” Naruto lamented, wondering why he was thinking that when his dick was buried in the sole object of his affections.

“It’s fine,” Sasuke said, and he began to rock his hips back and forth. “Can we just have this for now?”

Then he moved up and down once and Naruto forgot about caring and talking, instead rolling them over and pushing back in. It was a strange feeling, being unable to stop. Naruto’s hips were moving of their own accord and Sasuke kept scratching at Naruto’s arms as Naruto tried to kiss each part of Sasuke that he could reach.

“Yeah?” he checked, hoping the raven was feeling as good about this as he was.

Sasuke hummed in response; Naruto couldn’t even form a coherent sentence, and when he watched himself disappear inside Sasuke, he lost it.

The raven was still hard when Naruto stopped shaking from his orgasm. He looked ten different kinds of amazing, cheeks flushed and chest heaving, and the sex couldn’t have been any longer than five minutes but Sasuke didn’t seem to mind.

Naruto thought the raven deserved to have as good of an orgasm as he did, so he pulled out and took Sasuke in his mouth again, licking and sucking and tasting bitterness and salt until the raven came with a low grown.

They lay there, hearts slowing and sweat cooling. As far as first times went, Naruto thought he’d done alright.

“I should go,” Sasuke said, when the silence had settled in.

Naruto, who had started to drift off, pawed around until he found Sasuke’s hand. “No, come back.” _To bed. To Seven Sins._

“It was a mistake.”

For once, Naruto didn’t blindly believe him. “Right, like you were the hesitant one.” Then he yawned. “Stay.”

 

**Greed**

**(2016)**

So maybe it wasn’t a crush. But it wasn’t love either.

Naruto tried very hard not to read into any potential hidden messages when he woke up to an empty apartment. Instead, he went for a freakishly long run until his legs felt like jelly, and he penned a new song about alcohol and lovers.

Then he watched the _Tears of Namiko_ remake and criticised each scene for being cheesy and unrealistic and wondered when he had gotten so negative.

 

He had coffee with Sakura the day after.

Her nails were painted pink and she stirred her cup too much as she said, “I think I might be going out with Ino.”

Naruto didn’t swallow correctly and coughed up his tea into a napkin. “That’s…unexpected.”

“I know,” Sakura said, and she frowned like she wasn’t happy, but she had to be if the two of them had a newfound relationship. “I don’t know how I feel about it. But I like her, a lot.”

“Not love, though?”

Sakura gave him a condescending stare. “No, Naruto, that’s you and Sasuke.”

It was Naruto’s turn to frown. “You know? I don’t think so anymore.”

“Hark, did I just hear you renounce your undying love for him?”

Naruto shook his head. “No, not quite. I need to figure some things out though.”

Sakura threw her hands up. “Well hallelujah, I have to order more cake to celebrate.”

Later, when they were licking green tea icing off their spoons, Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Promise me no more Namiko?”

“No more Namiko.”

 

One month later, when the fuss of the New Year had died down, Sasuke turned up at the H&YM band lounge. In his hand was a newly-signed contract that Sakura snatched from him immediately.

“You’re coming back?” Naruto said in disbelief as Sakura scanned the papers.

Sasuke, as always, looked faintly irritated. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Naruto took the raven into his arms and held him there, and _Tears of Namiko_ didn’t enter his head once.

 

[end]


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